Perspectives of Then and Now
by SevenOverThree
Summary: He didn't know what to expect when he entered the fallen tower. A long overdue tackle-hug? A trio of kids bent on revenge? Nothing could be certain, not after twelve years. He hoped they would still be themselves - but nothing ever works out like that...


**Disclaimer**: Animaniacs is property of Warner Brothers Studios, and Steven Spielberg.

**Authors Note:** Something that came to mind one day. Not entirely sure it'll get continued; I'm currently bogged down figuring out plots and chapters for my other stories (most of which are only on my Deviantart account). Either way, enjoy.

Shorter than my usual stuff - I apologize.

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><p>Nobody was quite sure what to expect when the news came in – the violent storm that had recently passed over Acme Falls had managed to knock the old water tower over. The very water tower that had successfully managed to contain the Warner siblings for the past decade or so.<p>

Some people expected the Warners to be set on revenge – the children hadn't exactly agreed to eternal imprisonment after their show had been put out of syndication. Others figured that they were dead by now, or whatever happened to a Toon when their lives 'expired', if at all.

Only reluctantly did the Psychiatrist approach the tower. he'd had some odd connection with the trio and was the only person thus far to ever successfully get the children to behave. Even if only for a few minutes. But then, he had to admit that Plotz had technically brought that particular run of disobedience on himself – he _had_ said that the Warners were behaving only because they wanted to attend the party. Well, not those words exactly, but certainly close enough to insinuate what would happen if their deal was broken.

The tower had a maddeningly disconcerting gash in it's side, the logo-shaped door hanging open from how the tower had fallen, still only barely standing; it's metal 'legs' were twisted and contorted and crunched up so that the whole thing was barely a few feet from touching the ground.

He found it strange that the three Toons hadn't started their usual brand of pranking and general hellion-ism. Usually, they'd take off the moment they were able – were they hurt? He hoped that they weren't that badly injured; he may not have liked the trio too much, but he certainly didn't dislike them enough to wish death upon them - they were only children. They were _aggravating_ children, but children all the same.

Slowly moving forward, Scratchensniff gazed into the tower through the open door – he knew that the trio had decorated the tower with all manner of devices and toys, along with general amenities; there was so much stuff inside of the tower that he would be surprised if they'd gotten out without some cuts or fractures, at the least.

"Hello?" He called into it, unnerved when he heard his voice echo back to him. He definitely recalled the Warner's tower being filled with enough things to ward off echoes. Had they destroyed it all? It had been over a decade, they would've done _something_ to pass the time.

He continued forward, hoisting himself inside and waiting until he was comfortable with walking on the now-angled towers floor -technically the wall- before moving some more, speaking as he did. "Is anyone there? Boys? D-dot?" He was, to be honest, getting a little worried now. It wasn't like the Warners to avoid an opportunity to prank or scare people. _Especially_ him.

He hoped the rumors of violence blossoming in the children were only that. He really didn't want to see what the Warners where capable of with anger in their hearts and revenge in their thoughts.

As his eyes adjusted to the light (or lack thereof) of the windowless water tower, Scratchensniff shivered. Seeing the tower this empty was... disconcerting, to say the least. The Warners were, in a way, materialistic. They liked having things in the tower, liked to have something going on around them. At least, that's what he'd been told.

Suddenly, something moved – rushed towards him and smacked into his chest with a distressed cry.

"Help!" The skinny Psychiatrist had stumbled backwards when the thing collided with him. He almost pushed it away in surprise, but the moment he looked down at it, he paused. It was the middle sibling – Wakko. He appeared dirty, his robins-egg-blue turtleneck now seeming a size too small, and tattered to boot. As well, he was clutching his right arm in a way that hinted at injury. Scratchensniff opened his mouth to respond when the boy spoke again. "My brother and sister are hurt!"

Part of the doctor wanted to yell at the boy for him and his siblings to get their act together and cut the nonsense – but this wasn't one of the trio's skits, wasn't one of their practical jokes. Not even the Warners would feign fatal injury for a laugh. Especially not now, barely a few hours after a massive storm that would have injured many others. The trio was inappropriate at times, but never if it meant making fun of something that had hurt so many so recently. Even _they_ knew when the line was crossed.

"Where are they?" He asked the middle Warner. Wakko glanced at him once, a quick look of thought in the kids eyes, but then it was gone, and he was pulling the doctor along through the upended water tower by his arm.

He was distinctly concerned when Wakko led him to a pile of rubble, and pointed at it. Wakko claimed that his brother and sister where both underneath the rubble; that when the Tower started to fall, his older brother had tried to protect his two younger siblings by shielding them with his body. While part of Scratchensniff was excited at this new information about Yakko's personality, the rest of him was very concerned – Yakko would have taken the brunt of any damage, and was likely to be the one with the most injuries.

"How did you get out?" He asked the Toon. Wakko glanced at him again, and seemed to think for a moment before answering.

"When the tower started shifting, I fell. Yakko only got Dot before everything started breaking. I got lucky." He nodded towards the broken -fractured?- arm he held close to his body. Lucky, indeed. Wakko could have received far worse injuries than that.

Scratchensniff suspected that Yakko would probably have a concussion, alongside broken bones, or fractures – Dot would probably have only suffered cuts and bruises, knowing the Warners, and how protective they were of their youngest sibling.

"Come on, help me get them out from under there." The Doctor said, pulling at a splintered slab of wood that he figured was once part of a table. Wakko paused for barely a moment, quickly jumping forward and eagerly pulling at the rubble blocking him from his two siblings.

It didn't take long to move enough of the junk and rubble to free the pair that had been trapped underneath – and true to what Wakko had said, Yakko had evidently shielded his sister from major harm; she didn't appear to have any fatal injuries, the worst being a series of cuts on her arm that looked like they were still bleeding. Yakko had it worse – the objects that had hit the boy would all have been large and heavy; he had many reasonably sized cuts on his always-bare back to prove it. Many of them were still bleeding, and a few looked quite deep.

Wakko was still, waiting oh-so-patiently as Scratchensniff carefully eased the two Warners out from underneath the rubble. The psychiatrist was somewhat pleased when Yakko didn't immediately let go of his younger sister, but didn't waste time analyzing the simple action – he needed to get these children out of the rickety tower and to a hospital, and quick. Who knew how badly the elder Warner was injured?

0o0o0o0o0o0

Several hours later, Scratchensniff had received the prognosis on the Warner trio – Dot had received only minor cuts and bruises, Wakko, some cuts and a pulled muscle in his right arm -Scratchensniff was grateful it had not been something worse- and Yakko, as expected, had not been quite so lucky. He'd received a small concussion, multiple cuts on his back, and may have received a minor memory problem from said concussion.

Currently, the psychiatrist was sitting in the Warner's room; Dot was asleep, as was Yakko. Wakko was sitting on his designated bed, fiddling with an object he'd pulled from what Scratchensniff assumed had been his hammerspace. The Toon was being oddly quiet, though the psychiatrist didn't blame him – both his siblings had been hurt, and the one that usually made sure everything was always a-okay was now badly hurt himself.

"Thanks" He heard Wakko say. "for helping me." Scratchensniff smiled.

"No problem."

"D'you think they'll be okay?" The man -along with Wakko- took a quick glance at Yakko – the Toon was unconscious, but did not look like he was in much, if any, pain. And that the doctors hadn't put the eldest Warner on a very powerful pain medication said that he likely would be fine.

"Certainly. The doctors said he just got a smack to the head, and some cuts – nothing bad." Not exactly the truth, but the child was seven - ranting on and on about what had actually been diagnosed might have warranted panic from the Toon.

"Whoa... Was I hit by a semi...?" Yakko's voice broke the silence beginning to fill the room, causing the Toons younger brother to grin, jumping across to the elders bed and hugging him with his good arm. A pained look flashed across Yakko's face, but was pushed down as he returned the hug, evidently pleased to see that one of his siblings was in better working order than himself.

"Dots over there, she's sleeping." Wakko told his brother, pointing at the unconscious girl one bed over. "And he brought us here." He pointed at Scratchensniff, who at once found it odd that the Toon was not addressing him by the usual nicknames – even in the tower he'd never once addressed him by name. In fact... he'd never addressed him at all.

"Who is he?" The words were like a bullet. The Psychiatrist had been told that Yakko might have some memory problems, but it was still a shock to know that Yakko did not recall who his rescuer was. Wakko's response was equally as disturbing.

"I don't know."

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><p>So Dot had no speaking role in this chapter - mostly because I didn't want to write her at the time this was conceived. Now though, I'm happy I didn't write her - I'm considering having it so Dot still has her memory, but I'm not entirely sure. Heck, the whole plot is up for debate; all I have to go on is that the Warner boys lose their memories.<p>

And no, I didn't write Scratchy's accent. It's irritating, and anyone who watched/watches the show should be able to imagine the words in his voice without my help.


End file.
